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xScope, Fantastical, more available for just $10 in new MacHeist bundle
The latest bundle from MacHeist has just gone live, and it's a good one. There are six apps in the bundle, and they're a steal at a price of just US$9.99: You'll get the great xScope measuring tools for designers, Fantastical's excellent calendar app, Boinx's stupendous iStopMotion, tutorial-maker Clarify, invoice-creator Totals and CleanMyMac 2, which will help clean all sorts of old cache files and cruft out of your system. In addition to those (any one of which is worth the price as-is), the excellent indie game Little Inferno is set to be added to the bundle at 10K sales, and PathFinder should also be added in at some point. Plus, there are two more spaces on the site for more apps, and 10 percent of your purchase will go to charity, so there's quite a few reasons to just go grab it now and treat yourself to some excellent Mac software. And if that's not enough, there's also a Name Your Own Price Mac bundle sale going on over on Stack Social, where you can get 10 more great Mac apps (including CrossOver 12, DiskTools Pro and Paperless) all for a price you name yourself. If you beat the average (currently $7.77), you get all 10 apps, so if you combine this with the MacHeist deal, you could pick up 18 of the best apps on the Mac for under $20. It's a great day to be a Mac owner for sure.
MacHeist releases The Heist for iOS
The folks over at MacHeist are apparently revving up for another big sale, and this time to celebrate the event, they've gone all out. Previous versions of the sale have featured a web-based metagame, but this time the game has moved onto iOS with the release of a US$0.99 app called The Heist. It's very well done, of course, with plenty of secrets to figure out. Some of them are more traditional. The app has basically four different puzzle minigames (one's a Sudoku variant, while others are like sliding tile puzzles or the car parking puzzle game), each with a number of different puzzles to solve within them and all in the goal of opening up the big MacHeist door. There's also a metagame to this one with an actual prize (I've heard it's a Steam game) coming to anyone who can conquer all of the puzzles. And as an interesting trick at the beginning of the app hints, there's an actual story that's going on behind the scenes here. The Heist wraps a lot of puzzles and fun in the MacHeist project's signature style. You might not be able to crack all of the codes (though I'm sure someone out there will), but it's an enjoyable venture anyway.
Twitter for Mac update removes hidden features
MacHeist bundle owners may be disappointed to discover that the latest version of Twitter for Mac removes the hidden Super Secret menu, which was covertly added by developers. This backdoor was included as a bonus for disgruntled customers who purchased the MacHeist bundle before Tweetie was acquired by Twitter. Bundle owners were promised a free update to Tweetie 2, but that update never materialized. The Super Secret menu was enabled by pressing Control, Option/Alt, and Command keys simultaneously, clicking MacHeist Secret Stuff and entering your credentials into the resulting dialog box. These extra settings let you hide the app in the background, type anywhere to start a tweet and more. The latest version of Twitter for Mac disables this feature by preventing users from accessing the initial MacHeist Secret Stuff menu, at least by using the method listed above. Twitter for Mac users that enabled the Super Secret menu will keep this feature, but new downloads lose the ability activate it using the above method. Though perhaps not desirable, the removal of the Super Secret menu was expected. When this hidden feature was first discovered, we wondered how Apple would respond. Thankfully, Twitter did not have to pull the app from the Mac App Store and was able to push out an update quickly.
Tweetie for Mac has a MacHeist secret
The storied history of MacHeist continues with the release of Twitter for Mac in the app store. As you may remember, MacHeist bundle customers were promised early access and a free copy of Tweetie 2. Then Tweetie 2 never arrived, and Twitter bought Tweetie, and now there's a free version of Twitter for Mac which is what Tweetie 2 would have been. MacHeist customers have, understandably, felt a bit cheated by MacHeist on the Tweetie 2 front, even if the circumstances were outside MH's control. In order to make up for it, MacHeist announced today that Twitter for Mac has a secret. If you click onto the help menu for Twitter for Mac, then hold down the control, option/alt, and command keys at once, a secret menu option is revealed (shown above). If you enter your "Tweetie 2 registration information" from the MacHeist nanobundle, you will get a new "Super Secret" menu in preferences that gives you custom settings for the app: It will be interesting to see what Apple thinks of this secret. Given the rules governing App Store purchasing, it's possible that the app will get "pulled" from the Mac App Store until these "secret" features are either removed or made available to everyone. Lost your MacHeist information? You can look up your orders here. UPDATE: Kudos to Zach who figured out how to enable this. (See his comment below.) To enter these, launch /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app and paste each of these lines in. I tested it on one Mac where I hadn't entered my MacHeist information, and it appeared to work: defaults write com.twitter.twitter-mac ScrollingMakesKeyAndOrdersFront -bool true defaults write com.twitter.twitter-mac UserTimelineDerepeater -bool true defaults write com.twitter.twitter-mac TypeAnywhereToTweet -bool true defaults write com.twitter.twitter-mac HideInBackground -bool true defaults write com.twitter.twitter-mac ESCClosesComposeWindow -bool true defaults write com.twitter.twitter-mac NormalComposeWindowLevel -bool false UPDATE 2: Aral Balkan posted a free little app which will enable these features for anyone who downloads it. Appropriately enough I saw it on Twitter.
MacBundles invites customers to 'Build Your Own Bundle'
Ever since the success of MacHeist, it seems like resellers offering bundles of applications at heavily discounted prices are proliferating. MacBundles has an interesting new twist: a la carte application bundles. Just like buying a CD that has a few songs you really like along with a bunch of filler, the same is usually true for these packages of apps. But at MacBundles, you can now get a full slate of a dozen apps for $50, or if some of the choices don't strike your fancy, you can select as few as five to create your own bundle. Customers who opt for five or more programs will pay just US$5.95 for each application, a price that drops to $4.95 per if you buy ten. Of course at that latter price you are already paying the same price as the full package of twelve, so you may as well just get them all. Given the discounts on these packages, it's usually worth just buying the whole thing even just to try out the apps. The current offering is available only until November 28. [via Macworld]
The future of Tweetie and the Mac
A tweet from @MacHeist provides clarification on another tweet from Twitter founder Evan Williams. Williams commented a few days ago that Twitter was not "actively investing" in Tweetie for the Mac at this time. Williams' tweet caused quite a stir. Since the acquisition of Tweetie for iPhone and the app's conversion into Twitter's official app for iPhone and iPad, the Mac version of Tweetie has collected a good bit of dust and now lacks the up-to-date features found in its mobile siblings. MacHeist director John Casasanta was even surprised by Williams' tweet, because he reports being in contact with Tweetie's developer, Loren Brichter. The good news? Tweetie 2 for the Mac is alive and well, even though work has slowed due to the Twitter acquisitions of the mobile products. There's still no word about when it'll be released, but we'll be sure to let you know when it's out.
MacHeist nano bundle adds Tweetie for final day
The ever-popular MacHeist bundle, offering eight Mac apps for $20 total, closes out at midnight Pacific Time tonight. If you've been on the fence so far about whether or not to buy in this year, two bits of news may push you over the brink. First, all the initial applications have been unlocked; both Tales of Monkey Island and RapidWeaver are fully present and accounted for. Second, there's been a last-minute addition to the roster; Tweetie for Mac (normally $20 on its own) is now part of the bundle. If you're Macheisting this year, let us know what you think of the app selection; if not, share your reasons why. (We will accept "I'm saving up for tickets to Tron Legacy" as a valid reason.)
Macheist arrives. Again.
The latest MacHeist countdown has finished and, after a few tense moments as they got their ducks in a row last night, the new bundle is ready for sale. This year's "nano bundle" includes the following apps at an incredible discount: MacJournal RipIt Clips CoverScout Flow Tales of Monkey Island Rapidweaver That's more than US$260 worth of software for a mere twenty bucks. Note that Tales of Monkey Island and Rapidweaver are the "Unlock Apps." That is to say, they'll become available once certain sales milestones have been reached; Monkey Island will go on sale once 50,000 bundles have been sold, and Rapidweaver after that. I tend to buy software as I need it or as I realize that I've been using it for a while without sending off some cash to the developer. When participating in these "event" sales, I tend to forget that I ever downloaded the stuff, often being surprised at finding the software thus acquired in my /Applications folder. Your mileage will, of course, vary. For some of you out there in reader-land, this bundle may turn out to be the best thing since, I dunno, sliced bread or Wheatabix or citizen band radios or whatever, for you. So if you're a bundle kind of person, Woo Hoo! The stuff is here (or at least, nearly here.) Here's hoping there are some goodies for you, this go 'round that will enhance your day-to-day Mac use and bring some joy into your software life. Via our Christina W., whom we miss
The loot from the recent MacHeist
As Kevin pointed out on Wednesday, MacHeist has a new bundle for us at the moment -- but this one is what they consider a "nanoBundle" and it's free. I can't speak for everyone here at TUAW, but when I see the word "free" next to software, I horde it. They've decided to just give away this bundle of apps in what appears to be a move to encourage their users to come back for more. 6 great mac apps for zero dollars. That's my kind of deal. There are only 6 more days to download this bundle, so go grab it after checking out the loot: Shove Box -- An awesome reminder, organization, gotta-get-it-done application that sits in your menu bar. You can then drag things like text, URLs, images... possibly anything to the menu bar app and it'll save it for later. When you get some free time, you can go back through and see what you have. There's an iPhone companion app as well. WriteRoom -- A simple writing application that removes all of the typical distractions from your writing sessions. It makes the text window full screen, completely cutting off the rest of the world from your mind -- if you so choose. It still has simple tools like word count, background/text color adjustments... but definitely keeps you focused. We've covered it quite a bit. Twitterrific -- One of my favorite apps on my iPhone as of late. The desktop version is similarly simple. Set up your Twitter account and tweet away with the easiest solution imaginable. TinyGrab -- Is a screen capture maniac's dream. It allows you to use the standard command-shift-4 and select part of your screen or hit spacebar to capture a specific window. The kicker: it uploads it directly to your own FTP server and puts the URL in your clipboard so you can paste it in Facebook, Twitter, email, IM... whatever your pleasure. Hordes of Orcs -- I'll admit, this is the real reason I'm downloading the bundle. I've heard nothing but great reviews about this game even from our own Mike Schramm. It's one of the most innovative desktop tower defense games I've seen. Everything is in 3D, there are 6 different game variations and let's not forget tower defense. Mariner Write -- This is a word processor with features you need but none of the "bloat" found in other applications *cough* Microsoft *cough.* Of course, it will open and save Word documents, as well as other formats. While I was writing this, the download total went up 5,000 downloads but it'll take 500,000 for all of us to get the full benefit. MacHeist says that Mariner Write is the unlockable application, so I'm hoping to get a serial and really try it out. Head over to Macheist, and download your nanoBundle. For the first time, I'll be using all of the apps in it -- and it's free!
iStopMotion now Snow Leopard happy
Just in case you were waiting for the stop-motion app on your hard drive to be compatible before switching to Snow Leopard, you can stop waiting -- even if you're using some other program to do stop motion, iStopMotion is the best and brightest, and with the brand new update to version 2.1, it's completely compatible with the newest version of OS X. OK, you probably weren't waiting for this upgrade to bring the OS up to date, but hey, Snow Leopard compatibility is a nice selling point with any app. This upgrade also includes the ability to put markers (with their own name, color, and description) in the timeline of your video, as well as a full Japanese localization, to go along with the English, German, and French already in there. It's a free update for all current users, and considering that iStopMotion has made quite a few appearances in various Mac software bundles, odds are you've already got it anyway.
Get your thinking caps on, MacHeist is back
Software bundles seem to be all the rage nowadays, but in my humble opinion, MacHeist is still the best. It doesn't just lump a bunch of apps together for special price, but instead, it turns getting a discount into a game. As a recent Mac switcher, I was utterly confused by MacHeist 3, the first edition in which I participated. Someone told me to check out the MacHeist bundle, so I went to the web site to see what applications it contained. But the site didn't tell me. It soon became clear that I was going to have to work for my software! The whole idea, if you're not familiar with MacHeist, is that you need to complete a series of challenges, labeled "heists," in order to get free software. Yes, free. As in what lunches aren't. And the software isn't anything to sneeze at (neither are lunches, by the way), as there are always some real gems to be found. UPDATE: We took the 4 from the title as it is currently unknown whether this is actually MacHeist 4 or an early bundle offer.
Talkcast preview: special guest Mitch Wagner from InformationWeek
If you joined us last Sunday night, you heard an unvarnished rant in five-part harmony as Dave, Christina, Mike S., Mel and I all weighed in on the ongoing series of "Laptop Hunters" Microsoft TV ads (yes, there's a third one now: an adorable mother-and-son team of laptop shoppers who shockingly still find time to slag the Mac as a kiddie machine while they browse the aisles) along with MacHeist and the other news of the week. You can download the show from Talkshoe or subscribe in iTunes. Tomorrow night -- Easter Sunday, 10 pm ET -- we'll be joined by a special guest: Mitch Wagner of InformationWeek, also known (in Second Life, anyway) as the metallic talkshow host Copper Robot. Bring your questions for Mitch about Apple news, virtual communities, social media & the public sector... we'll be covering the entire waterfront. To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only interface, or you can stick with the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in so we can hear your dulcet tones. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VOIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. SIP or Gizmo users can connect directly to Talkshoe by following the instructions here. Talk with you then! Recording support for the talkcast is provided by Call Recorder from ecamm networks.
Win one of 25 Macheist bundles
UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed (as are comments). Congrats to the 25 winners, who have been contacted.Yesterday Macheist raised over $500,000 for charity and unlocked the final two applications in the bundle. Today, from 9am to 5pm EST, you'll have a shot at winning one of 25 bundles. Currently the total bundle value stands at $981 but sells for $39. In the coming months we'll take a look at each of the programs featured in the bundle, but for now, check out the videos and descriptions on the Macheist website to get a taste of what's included. There's a little something for everyone, especially now that everything has been unlocked.To enter, you'll need to tell us which application you want the most. Also, once again we'll need to limit the winners to the US and Canada (except Quebec, as our French is really rusty). Comments will close today, April 7 at 5pm on the East Coast, so enter while you can! Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter leave a comment telling us which application in the bundle you prefer. The comment must be left before April 7, 5:00PM Eastern Time. You may enter only once. Twenty-five winners will be selected in a random drawing. Prize: one Macheist bundle including iSale, Picturesque, SousChef, World of Goo, PhoneView, LittleSnapper, Cro-Mag Rally, Acorn, Kinemac, WireTap Studio, BoinxTV, The Hit List, Espresso, Times (cost of bundle is $39). Click Here for complete Official Rules.
BoinxTV unlocked in MacHeist 3 -- next up, Espresso and The Hit List
UPDATE: Just as we suspected, the $500,000 blew past and now everything is unlocked. It took a while for the US$39 MacHeist 3 bundle to raise US$400,000 for charity, but it happened yesterday and now the US$199 BoinxTV Sponsored Edition application is unlocked for everyone who is participating in the fun. In case you're not familiar with BoinxTV, it's referred to as a "TV studio in a box" and it's wonderful for easy, yet professional-looking video editing. The Boinx TV unlock apparently opened the floodgates, because MacHeist 3 has raised another US$25,000 for charity since the US$400,000 level was reached. The new goal is a cool US$500,000 raised for charity, and when that happens, Espresso and The Hit List will be unlocked. This has to happen in the next two days, since this is a limited-time offer. Since we last talked about MacHeist 3, Cro-Mag Rally and the Times newsreader have been added as bonus apps. You also get Delicious Library 2 and Multiwinia if you tweet about your purchase (which caused Macworld editor Peter Cohen to firmly state the case against Twitter as a spam medium), as well as several other applications that have been slipped into the mix since the bundle started. The total value of MacHeist 3 is now at US$981, available to you for just US$39. Click here to visit the MacHeist 3 website.
MacHeist 3 bundle unveiled
The Heist might be over, but the software saving fun is just beginning! Tonight, the MacHeist 3 bundle was revealed in a geek-star studded live show. This year's bundle is, from a software perspective, really incredible. I love software bundles because they are a great way to get cool stuff, but the problem is, lots of stuff is frequently repeated across bundles, making it less and less exciting for the more seasoned Mac software-addict. This is not a bundle that can be accused of retreading old software; on the contrary, some new (and high profile) apps are available. This is the line-up: iSale Picturesque Sous Chef World of Goo PhoneView LittleSnapper Acorn Kinemac It wouldn't be a bundle without unlock incentives, and this year, MacHeist goes all out: WireTap Studio BoinxTV Sponsored Edition The Hit List Espresso And knowing MacHeist, I'm sure there will be other surprises to come as the sale takes shape.
MacHeist offers free licenses for DEVONthink via Twitter promotion
MacHeist is calling it a "TweetBlast," we'll call it savvy marketing, but you'll probably just call it "free software, woo!" In an effort to pump up the number of Twitter followers for the MacHeist challenges & software bundle, the team is offering followers (who are willing to post a promotional message) a free license for DEVONthink. The software, normally $50US, allows you to store your files and personal data in lots of structured, tagged and classified ways -- Brett previewed the 2.0 beta in December. Getting your free copy is pretty straightforward; you'll have to follow the MacHeist Twitter account, and then as noted you're required to tweet a promo message for the TweetBlast itself; not sure whether that's 'recursive advertising,' a recession-buster special or plain ol' viral marketing, but free apps are free apps. When you get DEVONthink, you'll also get Hyperspaces and Overflow as well. Also, participants should know that the DEVONthink licenses are for the soon-to-be-obsoleted 1.x version of the app, but if you want to roll your copy forward to the upcoming 2.0 version you'll be able to do so for the upgrade price of $20. Full details are at the MacHeist website.
MacHeist 3 begins
Everyone's favorite app bundle/puzzle game, AKA MacHeist, is back! MacHeist, now in its third year, combines a pre-bundle game, where users solve puzzles to unlock free apps and bundle discounts, and an actual bundle of apps, which go on sale at the end of the "heist." MacHeist is a fun way to waste some time and get some free apps by solving puzzles (or you can just read the forums and cheat) and the app bundle is generally a pretty good deal (assuming you don't already have the included software -- if you do, you can gift the licenses to the switcher in your life). You can view the first mission by logging into your MacHeist account; if you participated in the Mac Giving Tree promo you already have one, but new users can signup at the main page. Happy heisting! You can read our previous MH coverage here.(Also, a personal shout-out from me to MacHeist's new video host Lisa B -- even with the cheesy accent, she's still the best.)
Mac Giving Tree now gives more than Mac apps
We told you about the Mac Giving Tree over the weekend. It is a project from the guys over at MacHeist, and gives Mac users free applications just by creating a MacHeist account and referring friends. They have already given away copies of Enigmo 2 and Synergy, and now they are at it again. If you have been watching the tree, then you know something has been up. The Giving Tree now has iPhone application icons sprouting up around it -- what does it all mean? When the icons grow and start wiggling you are able to click them and join a drawing for the application. If you are a winner you will receive a promo code for the app specified. Wurdle, Fieldrunners, Flick Fishing, Moto Chaser, WeightBot, and Frenzic are just some of the apps being offered. If you wish to try your hand finger at winning some promo codes, then head on over to the Mac Giving Tree website. And don't forget to unwrap all of your presents under the tree on Christmas Day! Please note that the promo codes are US only at this time -- so you must redeem them inside of the US App Store.
Mac Giving Tree rewards you with free applications
As the holidays quickly move through it would seem that everyone is in the spirit of giving (unless you're a scrooge, but that's a different story entirely). MacHeist, a site that has mainly been known to sell application bundles, is offering something very special this holiday season. The Mac Giving Tree is a place where people with a MacHeist account can go to get free applications. If you don't have MacHeist credentials, you can sign up for free. When you sign up, you are able to join the Mac Giving Tree -- this gives you a few free applications upon sign up. I got Synergy and Enigmo 2 absolutely free. On Christmas Day, you are able to visit the site, sign in, and "unwrap" other presents that show up below the tree. When you refer your friends, you are able to get additional presents to unwrap. Visit the Mac Giving Tree to get your free applications, and while you're there take a look at the page design. If you Twitter a message starting with @macheist, your tweet will automatically show up on the page ... that's just pretty nifty. Thanks, Phil!
More App Store sales figures
Last week, iPhone app shop tap tap tap released preliminary sales data for its iPhone applications. The figures were interesting (and impressive), but at the time, only seven days of data was available. As Steve Jobs told the Wall Street Journal on Monday, the App Store's first month generated about $30 million US in sales, and I was interested in how that would translate on a micro level. Yesterday, tap tap tap's John Casasanta posted its full July sales totals (save a few territories, which will likely have little effect on the final tally), allowing us to do just that.As with the data released last week, the numbers are extremely impressive. Apple's reporting process calculated sales from June 29, 2008 through August 2, 2008. However, as John notes, because the App Store didn't launch until July 10, 2008, the sales data is actually for 24 days.For tap tap tap's two applications, this is the breakdown:Where to Go (App Store link) sold 24,094 copies at $2.99 a copy in 24 days.Tipulator (App Store link) sold 3,168 copies at $.99 a copy in 24 days.After Apple's 30% cut, tap tap tap's net revenue was $52,815 US for 24 days. Wow. That averages to just about $2200 US a day. Read on for more analysis.
